Update

What Are They Doing?

By utilizing a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and by SCUBA diving below the sea ice, the research team collected data related to the benthic, or seafloor-dwelling, animals living in McMurdo Sound. The seafloor of McMurdo Sound is one of the few areas in the polar regions where benthic animals have been studied for over 40 years. By comparing historical data to data from the present, the team helped to understand changes in the benthic ecosystem. In addition, they studied how benthic species colonize the seafloor and how long it takes for them to become established. This work added to the knowledge of benthic communities, how they develop over time, and how they respond to changes in the environment. The team also worked on establishing a single database with information on the benthic communities of the McMurdo area.

Where Are They?

The team was based in McMurdo Station, Antarctica. McMurdo Station is on Ross Island, a volcanic island (with the southernmost active volcano, Mt. Erebus) south of New Zealand in the Ross Sea. Working with a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and by SCUBA diving, members of the research team collected samples below the sea ice of McMurdo Sound and the surrounding areas.

This PolarConnect event was with PolarTREC Teacher Tina Sander and researcher Stacy Kim who are conducting research on the Antarctic seafloor using divers and an underwater robot. This is the first of three PolarConnect events this team will conduct.

Journals

Meet the Team

Tina Sander is living her dreams. Based in beautiful Santa Cruz, California, she has been teaching English Composition for Cabrillo College and English as a Second Language and computer skills at the Santa Cruz Adult School since 2003. She loves the balance of helping college students develop their critical thinking and writing skills, guiding adults of all ages through the wonderful, though sometimes intimidating, world of technology, and working with non-native English speakers to develop their proficiency with both computers and the English language.

Herself an immigrant from Germany, Ms. Sander has traveled and lived in many parts of the world. Besides teaching, which she started in 1999, she jumps in the ocean to play with the waves, hops on a bike to explore the mountains, and does yoga and rock climbing to stay flexible and strong. Ms. Sander is overjoyed to be part of PolarTREC and hopes to not only share the experience with many people but also to spark their passion for exploring and learning so that they too may find and follow their dreams.

Dr. Stacy Kim is a research professor in Benthic Ecology, or how organisms that live on the seafloor interact to form communities. She has worked with Dr. Adam Marsh in both Antarctic and hydrothermal vent ecosystems, and will be diving on this project to help collect worms, as well as to continue assembling data to examine long term changes in Antarctic ecosystems. When she is not studying human impacts in marine communities and developing technology for underwater research, Stacy enjoys backpacking, climbing, and beach volleyball.

Bob Zook is an engineer with Coastal Conservation and Research, Inc. Mr. Zook first worked as a logistics support contractor in Antarctica in 1997, but now works in Antarctic research. Mr. Zook is the chief engineer that designed and developed the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) called SCINI (Submersible Capable of Under Ice Navigation and Imaging). The SCINI ROV will be used in 2010 on the IceAged project. He is also working with the ANDRILL (http://www.andrill.org/) project in Antarctica to develop an ROV that can dive deeper.

Learn more about any of the IceAged team members at their project website (http://iceaged2010.mlml.calstate.edu/people/). Dr. John Oliver is a research professor at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. He studies the disturbance of marine benthic environments, coastal areas, and places where human activities have significant impacts on habitats. Dr. Oliver is also interested in watershed and ecosystem restoration. He has a long history of Antarctic research in soft ocean floor habitats, and is interested in long term patterns of community change. He is a diver and leader in the 2010 IceAged project.To learn more about Dr. Oliver's scientific interests, please visit his faculty biography page (http://www.mlml.calstate.edu/faculty/john-oliver).

Kevin O'Connor recently completed his Masters degree in Biology at San Diego State University is now a project manager at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. He is making his first trip to the Antarctic in October 2010, and he will be a diver on the 2010 IceAged project.

Dr. Paul Dayton is a professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and he began working in Antarctica in 1963. Dr. Dayton's researchinterests include benthic ecology; marine conservation and policy, evolution and natural history, and general ecology. He has a lot of experience studying the Antarctic marine ecosystems, and his experience will guide the IceAged project.

DJ Osborne is an engineer/pilot at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and he has worked in Antarctica since 1996. Mr. Osborne will be leading the remotely operated vehicle work that is part of the 2010 IceAged project.

Jennifer Fisher is a research technician and larval ecologist at Oregon State University. She has worked in Antarctic, at McMurdo Station in 2003 and 2004 and will return with the IceAged project in 2010 as a driller and diver.

Julie Barber is a shellfish biologist for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. This will be her first trip to Antarctica, and she will be a diver on the IceAged project in 2010. In addition, Julie will be helping with education and outreach related to the project.

This site is supported by the National Science Foundation under award 0956825.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this site are those of the PIs and coordinating team and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.